This past weekend, I attended (for the first time) Surrey International Writers Conference in
It was without a doubt one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Excellent workshops, wonderful presenters, friendly agents (Rachel Vater from Folio was awesome!), and I finally got to meet some of the CompuServe Books and Writers Forum members.
Vicki Pettersson’s class was just incredible. Some of my notes include:
- The work doesn’t stop
- Writing should be intertwined in the fabric of your life
- Putting words on the page changes you
- Pressures are excuses – they have nothing to do with writing
She really inspired me. My goal post-conference is to write at least 1,000 words a day on SOMETHING. Even if it’s just in my working journal (another good idea from Vicki).
Meeting Jack Whyte was an experience I’ll never forget. What a character. He is an extremely down-to-earth, genuinely nice man that never came across as the world-famous author that he is. And his singing voice? Well, let’s just say that I’ve never heard a song involving "MUD" sound quite as good as Jack’s version.
I also enjoyed chatting with Diana Gabaldon (brilliant and a very, very nice lady), Jay Clarke (of Michael Slade fame), and C.C. Humphrey’s (whose poem from “The Blooding of Jack Absolute” was more lyrical than something about oral sex ought to be).
Some of the women I met this weekend will no doubt be friends for life. I consider myself very lucky to have had the chance to hang out with them. Without them, I would have been lost.
Donna, Beth and I took a wonderful walk to the
(This picture was taken from my phone – which SUCKS at best.)
I also hope that we can get a Writers retreat going (thanks to Beth!) this summer.
I will beg, borrow, or steal to be able to go to
No question.
9 comments:
Sigh. I want to go back...
Have you made the 1000 words yet? [g]
Beth,
HA! Unfortunately no. But it will happen tonight after Dev goes to bed.
I want to go back too. I'm having a hard time sharing the details with my family. I want to hold close the memories for just a little while longer.
How about you - any more progress?
I should have writing goals...instead I get sucked into the blogosphere and facebook...I need to disconnect the internet!
Glad you had a great time. I hear good things about Surrey.
i used to live next door, in north delta, did most of my shopping in surrey
sounds like i missed out on some neat stuff....
OK, Tara, you've been bookwormed! See my blogpost of Dec. 14 for details.
And it's clear that I need to move the Jack Absolute books up in my TBR pile. (g)
Tara, wasn't Surrey fantastic? I will be back one way or the other.
What's this about a writer's retreat? I wasn't invited?
Sadness.
Beth,
You will love this: The closest book to me right now is "Life with my sister Madonna" by Christopher Ciccone. (g)
It's been sitting on my desk for weeks. I haven't seen my friend to return it.
Julie,
I don't think the guest list is exclusive. (g)
We haven't gotten past the "it's a good idea, why don't we plan a retreat!" stage.
Is it October yet? (vbg)
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